STIX HOOPER has reportedly left the Crusaders after 19 years, in a big bust up with the now sole original members, Kelly Marie producers Joe Sample & Wilton Felder . . . Extra T’s ‘E.T. Boogie’ has been withdrawn in the States following ‘E.T.’ film-maker Steven Spielberg’s claim that it infringes his trademark — so, just as it really explodes in London with solid Capital Radio play, you’d better buy it while you can . . . Rockers Revenge follow up with another fiercely revived oldie, Jimmy Cliff’s ‘The Harder They Come‘ (huh?!) . . . Marvin Gaye’s 12in was in full supply last week, when all outstanding orders were belatedly filled, so the initial shortage was possibly a pressing plant problem . . . Marvin, my gut reaction and general observations tell me, ought to be top of this week’s disco chart but the points worked out otherwise (in fact it’s really tight in the whole Top 30 with several hot titles slipping despite increased plays) — still, there’s always next week . . . Billy Griffin sold a bundle last week, and electrophonic phunk was the dominating sound in London at least — but most notable was the virtually total lack of disco play for Eddy Grant’s pop radio smash . . . Imagination incredibly have put ‘Heart ‘N’ Soul‘ on hold and instead follow their miss with a remixed ‘Changes‘, boring! . . . Shalamar’s follow-up is a remixed ‘Friends‘ — just about the only thing left after that must be a 12in remix of the LP’s label . . . Madness’s upcoming ‘Our House’ on 12in copies will start with all their oldies intros cleverly segued together . . . Bobby “O”, now out here, has been remixed (both sides) on Canadian Unidisc 12in . . . London’s latest station in an ever increasing jostle is Gaywaves on 104FM Wednesday evenings — I hear it’s a hoot! . . . Discomart ’82, the Barry’s Disco Centre organised equipment, is this Sunday (14) between noon-5.30pm in the Cambridge Suite at the Gloucester Leisure Centre (they say Stantion Road but that could mean Station), with Simon Bates saying “Hi” at 3pm, a huge Pulsar lighting display, giant screen video demonstrations and several new product launches amongst the special attractions . . . Rush Release’s mailing list up-date has so far shown up an amazing 45 bogus DJs — can you believe it?! . . . Rush Release’s Ian Titchener now reckons this page is “once again essential reading” — er, when wasn’t it, or is that because I keep reviewing in all innocence 7in copies of stuff they’ve sent out on 12in to everyone except me? . . . Torso, the dancers who back Gail Grier on ‘In Heat’, appeared with Diana Dors in the video of Adam Ant’s ‘Prince Charming’ . . . Gap Band’s ‘You Dropped A Bomb On Me’ video is in appallingly bad taste . . . Madonna ‘Everybody’ was last week’s highest new US Dance/Disco chart entry, while US Black hits include Peter Gabriel ‘Shock The Monkey‘, Steve Miller ‘Abracadabara’, Yazoo ‘Situation’ . . . I escorted a girlfriend to the Hammersmith Palais last week as her brother Boris was drumming with some new-fangled beat group there — turned out to be the Thompson Twins! . . . Al Taylor, Bodellwydan Poppeys DJ (0745-36757), organises a circuit of North Wales clubs for PAs and invites any interested London soul outfits to travel up there (expenses paid) with the added inducement of a free video copy to keep of their appearance . . . Ian Turner (Llandudno Speakeasy) sent me a snap of Streetwave plugging “perfect gentleman” Orin Cozier living up to his “Ladies Man” nickname — what’s it worth, O?! . . . Orin’s boss meanwhile is secretly — nah, I promised I wouldn’t, but who could it be?! . . . Eyes & Ears plugging Nicky McKenzie starts jocking at Soho’s La Vie En Rose in the old Windmill, Paul Raymond’s new million pound lazer disco, when it opens this coming Tuesday (16) . . . I wonder which well-known DJ started slagging off Ray Parker Jr’s recent rock hit before anyone could tell him he was actually talking to Ray’s brother, Greg? . . . Jon Williams reckons more Merseyside DJs should aggressively promote their gigs, not just with newspaper ads, but like him with handbills given out to people in pubs and wine bars — his own next promotion is another funky river trip on Tuesday 30th November (fuller details later or ring 647 4439/645 3618 early evenings), the £2 cost including a free trip to catch Greg Wilson at the Wigan Pier afterwards . . . Kevin Springham has started a members-only 14-18 year old’s Tuesday “teen night” at Dartford Flicks, take two passport size photos on your first visit for free membership . . . Cippenham (Slough) Alexandras is now after a complete refit called Libertys, Robbie Collins playing alternative music Thursdays, Chris Ryan & Steve James funking Fri/Sats . . . Phil Mitchell, known to Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s HMV shoppers, now souls Sunderland Annabel’s on Mondays, Newcastle’s Swan & Sugarloaf (Mon), Old Kent Road Green Man’s Scotts (Sun/Wed), London Bridge Royal Oak (Tues/Sat) . . . Worcester Park’s oddly named Tressbonn Trashmore, known around South London for his mobile Dancemore Discotheques’s “select dinner dances” is now regularly at Croydon Cinatra’s . . . Nic ‘Jap-Jazz’ Wakefield (Sidmouth Carina’s) is trying to identify an oldie from the mid-’70s, slightly reggae-ish, starting something like “Barabbas you are brought before this court for . . . and the penalty is fifty lashes” — any ideas? . . . Dave Richards (Brown), jocking seven years with wide experience, is now working at Rayners Lane’s Record & Disco Centre but would welcome more work (01-868 1919 evenings) . . . Falco’s Continental smash ‘Der Kommissar‘ is now on 12in here (A&M AMSX 8254) . . . Kelly Marie’s finished copies of her Crusaders-produced ‘Don’t Take Your Love To Hollywood‘, instead of the promo’s instrumental, have her old import ‘New York At Night‘ as flip . . . Mayfair’s Gullivers was buzzing last weekend, what with our own resident freaky dance troupe, a Central Line PA, and the likes of Jeff Young, Tony Monson, Alan James Jewell, Alan Coulthard, Steve Jerome amongst the many familiar old faces . . . Alan James Jewell (we remember him as Wall) was just back from a year of mixing in Oslo before leaving for Bangkok in the new year, and says that Norway’s Monty Python-ish Prima Vera currently have a hot RCA LP track that translates as ‘Everybody’s Getting Herpes For Christmas‘! . . . Pete Alex, jocking as Diskothek Valentino in Wilhelmshaven, West Germany, sent me a cassette of recent Continental hits . . . Willie Hutch varied up a good bit mixes nicely out of Carol Douglas or Greg Henderson, and into Tyrone Brunson . . . Detroit Spinners ‘I’ll Be Around’ is 110-112bpm, Donny Hathaway ‘The Ghetto’ 0-114/57-113bpm, all you old soulies . . . Britain’s record buyers really are buying black disco records again, aren’t they? . . . KEEP IT FUNKY!

UK NEWIES

MARVIN GAYE: ‘My Love Is Waiting’ (LP ‘Midnight Love’ CBS-85977).
On UK release within days of American and Dutch pressings arriving here, the all electronic return to form for Marvin is still too new for me to have fully studied it, but the immediate standout has been this extremely ‘Sexual Healing’-like 92bpm variation on the same smoochy groove — but, annoyingly, the last track on side two. It’s started by Marvin saying “Thank you ladies and gentlemen, I sure hope you’ve enjoyed our new album here on CBS Records”, before continuing through the music to thank Harvey Fuqua, Larking Arnold and Jesus Christ. Nice out of Richard ‘Dimples’ Fields ‘You Send Me’, the lovely tune also disconcertingly (on Dutch pressing) produces an acoustic feedback-like tone. However, it’s a killer, the other likely one being the buoyant sleek 104bpm ‘Turn On Some Music‘ in his old yowling early seventies style.

PLANET PATROL: ‘Play At Your Own Risk’ (21 Records POSPX 535).
Rockers Revenge meets Soul Sonic Force with Temptations-ish vocals on great 126bpm 12in, a perfect mix with ‘Planet Rock’ — and the flip’s instrumental version is then followed by a 127bpm reprise of exactly that (but why couldn’t they have actually mixed the two?).

THE NEW JERSEY CONNECTION: ‘Love Don’t Come Easy’ (Nite Life 12LIFT 1, via IDS).
Unexpectedly picked-up by a brand new label, the smash import 116½-115-113-115-113-115-113bpm 12in jazz-funk jiggler with soul group vocals and a great drive is, like Greg Henderson, more of a must for discerning music fans maybe than for the Kashif clones.

GEORGE CLINTON: ‘Loopzilla’ (Capitol 12CL 271).
It’s P’funk party time as the Parliafunkadelicment thangs tune along New York’s radio dial and lost radio idents, lines from golden oldies and a dynamite “don’t touch that knob — like Planet Rock we just don’t stop” chant into a deadly 115bpm heavy funk groove, in two versions on 3-track 12in with the oddly Lovin’ Spoonful-like ‘Pot Sharing Tots‘.

MONTANA SEXTET: ‘Heavy Vibes’ (Philly Sound Works PSW 10482).
Philadelphia’s MFSB vibist Vince Montana returns with a dynamite dead simple 114bpm 12in jazz-funk instrumental which exploded in no time and has already reportedly been picked up by Virgin. The longer Club Mix is not necessarily an advantage as it mucks about for ages before reaching the main meat of the tune (which mixes beautifully between Jimmie Gray and Carol Douglas).

THE JAMMERS: ‘Be Mine Tonight’ (LP ‘The Jammers’ US Salsoul SA 8556).
A good enough disco set dominated by this “D” Train-type synth introed 119bpm groove which switches gear vocally into a rather bouncy trucking almost old style Brass Construction-ish bag, winning over all who hear it.

PRINCE: ‘D.M.S.R.’ (LP ‘1999’ US Warner Bros 23720-1F).
A double set of typical freakiness mostly at impossible tempos, worth it though for this emphatically chugging 109bpm “dance music sex romance” chanter (good out of ‘Pull Up To The Bumper’) and his hit title track murkily starting but then solidly storming 119bpm lurcher — which ends with a kid asking “Mummy, why does everybody have a bum?”

ROBERT WINTERS & FALL: ‘Do It Any Way You Want’ (US Casablanca NB 2361).
Two weeks ago Capital’s Greg Edwards started a four-in-a-row segued smooch sequence with this, just as I parked in Rayners Lane, and 20 minutes later I was still sitting there waiting for his back announcement! Spine-tingling “new soul” wailing at its best, in sorta Frankie Beverly style but with more traditional backing, this 70/35bpm 7in soul searer should not be missed. Ow! Ow! Ow!

BOBBY M: ‘Let’s Stay Together’ (LP ‘Blow’ US Gordy 6023GL).
‘Rick James presents Bobby M’, screams the sleeve, but Rick’s main credit seems to be his self-glorifying cover concept as saxist Bobby (Militello) co-produced himself with Lenny White. This gorgeous throbbing 101bpm duet with Jean Carn of Al Green’s classic is the immediate grabber, Bobby tootling and rasping well on the other often jazzy cuts. Be warned, it’s another US Motown pressing with bad surface noise.

(PHENOMENAL): ‘One Two Three (Come See About Me)’ (US Stanpico SP 7080).
Gene Redd-arranged very simple usefully Shalamar-ish (though not vocally similar) 110bpm 12in tripper with a mixable tapping break and an alternative 111bpm B-side ‘Give Me A Shot (Of Your Love)‘ which sets rather more of a song to much the same backing track.

TONY CHAMBERS: ‘Football Hero’ (US Birdie BD 1004).
Although the A-side’s a topical (in America) and not so hot rapper, the 0-113bpm 12in backing track flip is such a powerful slab of Ray Parker-ish solid funk that it started my climactic second set last Saturday to great effect (synching on into ‘E.T. Boogie’!).

THE JONZUN CREW: ‘Pack Jam’ (US Tommy Boy TB-826).
I dismissed as slightly tedious this electrophonically fierce 121bpm 12in jitterer when it came out but as it’s continued to grow along with the others of its ilk I finally bought it too — and while not the best it’s certainly a useful addition, the instrumental flip possibly being strongest.

Related

And here it is. The precise moment in history when Madonna began her symbiotic relationship with Gay Culture. Everybody makes it debut on the Gay Dance Chart. Whodini’s Magic Wand & Montana Sextet Heavy Vibes make their debut. I remember vividly James’s reference to 1999 by Prince & his misquote of the lyric “why does everybody have a BOMB”?

Fun Fact: Gwen McCrae’s “Keep The Fire Burning” becomes only the second track to top the Disco Chart without reaching the UK Top 75 Singles Chart. The only other non-charting chart-topper thus far is Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely”, but this was never released as a single (and a cover version charted in its place).

We currently have info on all the Disco Chart Number Ones until the end of 1987, and all the remaining chart-toppers managed to hit the Top 75 – but maybe there will be more “non-crossover” club hits yet to come?